The Fat Tower, Zierikzee, Przewodnik dla zwiedzających i co robić w okolicy

The Fat Tower (Dikke Toren) in Zierikzee is the unfinished church tower of the Sint-Lievensmonsterkerk, rising about 62 metres above the Kerkplein in the old town. It was planned as a statement of the town's 15th-century wealth, meant to outdo even the Dom tower in Utrecht, but the money and the craftsmen ran out. What remains is a stout, solid landmark that still dominates the Zierikzee skyline.

The story behind it

In the 15th century Zierikzee was a prosperous trading town, and its leaders wanted a tower to prove it. The ambition was huge: the plan was for a tower taller than the Dom of Utrecht, which stands at 112 metres. Because a tower that tall needs a very firm base, the foundations were built massive and deep, and they are the reason the tower looks so broad.

Building went on for decades, and the tower reached roughly its present height around thirty years after work began. Then the good times faded. Illness thinned out the skilled workers, and the cost of going higher became too great. The builders gave up, put a roof on the tower at its current height, and left it as the squat giant you see today. Later, the church beside it was lost to fire in 1832, which leaves the tower standing largely on its own.

What to look for

• Look at the sheer width of the tower compared with its height: the bulk of the base shows how tall it was meant to become.
• Notice the roof set on top of the brickwork, a practical finish added once the original plan was abandoned.
• Stand in the Kerkplein and take in how the tower overshadows the surrounding low houses and streets.
• Walk around the base and compare the weathered masonry on the different sides, where centuries of North Sea weather have left their mark.

Tips for your visit

• Allow 15 to 20 minutes to look at the tower and the square; longer if you combine it with the old town.
• Viewing the tower from the outside is free. Check current opening hours and access if you hope to go inside or climb.
• Morning and late afternoon light is kind to the brickwork, and the square is usually calmer outside the middle of the day.
• The tower sits in the middle of Zierikzee's historic centre, so the harbour and the old streets are an easy walk away.

See it on a quest

You can reach the Fat Tower on foot as one stop on Historic Highlights of Zierikzee: Time-travel with Cristóbal de Mondragón, a self-guided route through the town's history. The app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle based on what is in front of you, so you look at the tower properly instead of just photographing it. You start whenever you like, with no guide and no group to join, and one ticket covers the whole group.